


Walk the Path at Your Side

by kyrdwyn



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, I can't seem to stop crossing over MMPR Characters in Dino Charge, Keeper is in here too, M/M, Sorry Not Sorry, Soul Bond, i love my tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 02:55:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3553433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyrdwyn/pseuds/kyrdwyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What do you do when your soul mate doesn't believe in soul mates?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Seeing Marks

**Author's Note:**

> Because I can't resist a good soul mate fic, here's my entry in the Chase/Riley category. With extras. And no, I can't stop throwing in MMPR characters in these fics. Hey, MMPR was my first Power Rangers fandom. And my monster novel is MMPR based. If I ever finish it....

Chase turned his head and blinked as Riley did a one handed cartwheel across the floor, sword in one hand, slicing a tennis ball as he righted himself. Normally, he would be impressed. Riley was fun to watch when he was training. Well, he was fun to watch anytime, Chase would admit. He might have just a bit of a crush on the green ranger, but he wasn't sure how Riley would take that, so he kept it to himself.

Now, though, he'd seen something that had him stunned. On Riley's skin, when his shirt had ridden up from being upside down, had been a black design of a kiwi bird with a sword behind it. It could have been a tattoo, but Chase had never seen that particular shade of black outside of a soul mark.

And he'd never seen that design outside of his own soul mark.

"Chase?"

He blinked, looking back at Riley, who was standing in front of him, eyebrows raised. "You okay, Chase? You were staring at me."

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry. Just thinking. Didn't realize I was staring."

"Oh. Okay." Riley headed back to his training. Chase leaned against the table and kept watching, his hand idly running up his own arm to rest against his soul mark, high on his left arm. He hadn't given a thought to finding his soul mate. While there were websites dedicated to people posting pictures of their marks, trying to find the match, sometimes even the marks were similar among a lot of people who weren't actually mates, he hadn't bothered to put his up there. Even though his, Chase's, wasn't the standard generic mark. And it appeared that neither was Riley's. 

He considered the younger teen. Chase had always found him attractive, in a boyish way. And he was toned, his sword fighting keeping him in shape. His intelligence was a sexy bit of him, too.

Damn, he had it bad already, before he ever knew they had potentially matching soul marks. He wouldn't know if they were soul mates until one of them managed to touch the other's mark.

"Chase!" Riley's voice broke into his thoughts again. The younger man stood in front of him, his dino saber at his side. "You sure you're okay? You were staring at me, again."

Chase sighed. "Sorry, it's just that when you were doing your training, I saw..."

Riley blushed. "Ah, yeah. I usually try to cover up my soul mark, but I ran out of the makeup this morning. Need to get some more."

"Why?" Chase frowned. "I mean, mine's hidden by clothing, but so is yours, so why would you cover it up with makeup?"

"My family doesn't believe in soul mates." Riley shrugged. "So we hide the marks. My parents weren't soul mates."

"So, even if you found your soul mate, you wouldn't want to bond with them?"

"With a mark like mine? I doubt I'd ever find them."

"But what if you did?" he pushed. "What if the person with your matching mark were to walk up to you and say 'Hi, I think I'm your soul mate?' and show you their mark? What would you do then?"

"I don't know, Chase!" Riley said. "I never thought about it! I guess it would depend on who he or she was, if I knew them beforehand or not." He turned away, idly slashing his saber in the air. "I wasn't exactly encouraged to dream about meeting my soul mate," he called back over his shoulder.

Chase sighed, then reached down and pulled off his t-shirt, something he usually wouldn't do in the lab but he figured this was the only way he'd get an answer from Riley. Because Chase did believe in soul mates, and the thought of his being this close to him, and his mate not believing in them? He wasn't giving up that easily. If Riley didn't believe in them, and didn't want to bond, that was fine, if a bit heartbreaking to consider. But Riley should know he had a soul mate, before he made that decision.

Riley turned back and stopped, staring. Chase turned so the mark was clearly visible. "Hi," Chase said. "I think I'm your soul mate." He waited nervously as Riley walked over and inspected the mark. He raised a hand, as if he were going to touch it. "Oi, Riley, don't touch it unless you're ready to bond."

The younger team snatched his hand back. "Right," he said softly. "Sorry."

"No worries. Just didn't want you to bond if you weren't ready."

"What about you?" Riley said. "You can't be ready."

"I'd been hoping to meet my soul mate for a while," Chase said candidly. "Yeah, I'd bond now, but only if both of us are ready."

"And if I'm not ready for a while?" Riley sighed. "This is why I hate soul mates. We have a similar mark, sure, but if we get closer together, decided to bond, and I touch your mark and nothing happens, then what? We've both still got soul mates out there and we're already emotionally invested in each other."

"And what if we are each other soul mates? We're already rangers together, Riley, it's not like we're strangers."

"And you flirt with everything that traditionally wears a skirt!" Riley said.

"Yeah, I do, I admit it. But if you think that means I wouldn't be serious about my soul mate, you're wrong." Chase stepped forward. "If you think that means I wouldn't be serious about *you*, you are definitely wrong," he said, lowering his voice and staring at Riley. "My family believes in soul mates, and we believe they're for life, once you find them. But if my soul mate isn't willing yet, then I can wait."

"And if they're never ready?" Riley asked softly.

"I won't force them into anything," Chase said. "Doesn't mean I wouldn't ask for the right to try to change their mind. And if they told me no, to that or to being soul mates, then that would be it."

Voices echoed in the lab before Riley could respond. Chase pulled his shirt back over his head. "Think about it, mate," he said, before turning to greet Kendall and Koda.


	2. Overtures

"What is up with Chase?"

Riley turned to Shelby. "What do you mean?"

The pink ranger gestured out to the dining area of the cafe. Chase was waiting on a table of attractive young women, taking their orders and smiling politely. "It's like he's a pod person or something. He hasn't flirted with anyone in the past two weeks! That is not normal for him. It's... unnerving!"

"You just miss him flirting with you," Tyler said with a laugh.

"No, I don't miss that, but... what if something's wrong?"

Tyler frowned, looking out at Chase. Riley sighed. "Maybe he stopped flirting because he found his soul mate?"

The other two turned to him. "What?" Shelby asked.

Tyler blinked. "He did?"

Riley shrugged. "I don't know. But if he did, and they didn't like the flirting, well, maybe they said something to him? So he's trying to show he can change, so they can bond?"

"Wow. That's... actually romantic. If it's true," she added skeptically.

"Guess we'll just have to see," Tyler said. "He's lucky if he did find them. I mean, that's what, a one in half a billion shot at finding one's soul mate?"

"Something like that," Riley said idly. "It is pretty rare."

"Lucky him, then," Shelby said, picking up a tray and heading back out to clear off a table.

"Yeah," Riley said as he watched Chase. "Lucky."

* * *

Movie night in the cave was always an adventure. First, finding something that wouldn't trigger Koda too much. Second, finding something they could all agree on.

Tonight, everyone was arguing over what to watch. Tyler wanted _Jurassic Park_ (and honestly, didn't he get enough dinosaurs in his life?), Shelby wanted some obscure martial arts film Riley had never heard of. Koda didn't really have a preference, and Chase was arguing for, of all things, _The Three Musketeers_. 

Leaving the three to their argument, Riley walked over to Koda. "Have you seen the _Lord of the Rings_ movies?"

"No?" Koda said. "What are...?"

"They're about nine people trying to destroy an evil object, and ordinary people trying to save their homes. They were filmed in the country where Chase is from."

Koda brightened. "Chase see... his homeland?"

"Yes."

"I think... Chase miss home."

"I think so too."

"Riley and I decide!" Koda announced to the group. "We watch... what is it?" he asked Riley.

" _Lord of the Rings_ ," Riley said. He snuck a glance at Chase, who looked surprised, then smiled.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

Shelby and Tyler looked at each other, and shrugged. "I'll get the popcorn started," Shelby said, heading for the small area in the back of the lab.

"I'll get the movie. Come on, Koda," Tyler said. "I'll tell you more about the movies."

"Ok," Koda said, following him. 

Chase walked up to Riley, who looked away, suddenly shy. "Thanks," Chase said softly.

Riley looked up at him. "Maybe I just wanted to see it for the sword fighting," he said with a wink. He was rewarded with a look of surprise on Chase's face, then a slow smile.

"Or just watch for the pretty elf?"

"I prefer Aragorn," Riley replied. He glanced at Chase, then around the area. No one was paying attention to them. He reached up and ran a finger down Chase's jaw. "Something about the facial hair." He wasn't sure on their bond, not yet, but it seemed like Chase might welcome some flirting from Riley.

He was rewarded with a shiver from Chase. He turned away as the others came back into the area.

"Dunno what's gotten into you mate, but I like it." Chase muttered as he followed Riley to the couch for movie night.


	3. Nightmares

"What is wrong with him?" Shelby asked, wincing as Chase cried out again, caught in the throes of a nightmare sleep induced by one of Sledge's monsters. Chase wasn't the only person affected, several civilians had been hit as well. 

"The monster's beam is trapping people in nightmares," Miss Morgan said. "All the reports are saying that the only people even able to touch the afflicted are their soul mates, whether bonded or not." She looked up as Tyler cried out, moving away from Chase as the black ranger had tried to hit him. Tyler had been trying to calm the other man, but even in his sleep, Chase wasn't letting anyone near him. 

The alarm sounded, and the four rangers crowded around the monitors. "He's back, in the city center."

"We can't leave Chase," Tyler said. 

"You three go," Riley spoke up. "I'll stay here and help Miss Morgan. Call if you need me."

Tyler, Shelby, and Koda nodded, heading out. Miss Morgan looked at Riley. "You don't have to stay."

The green ranger sighed. "I think it's better if I do," he said, walking over to where Chase lay whimpering on the pull out couch. Riley sat down next to the black ranger and reached out and took one of Chase's hands, ignoring Miss Morgan's warning. 

The reaction was near instantaneous. Chase stopped in mid-whimper, hand tightening on Riley's. The older teen turned, pressing himself up against Riley's leg, practically using him as a pillow. The whimpering stopped and Chase settled into a more normal sleep. Riley used his free hand to stroke through Chase's hair. 

"When did you bond?" Miss Morgan asked quietly as she came over and used a scanner to check Chase's vitals. 

"We haven't," Riley said. "My family doesn't believe in soul mates."

Miss Morgan stopped and looked at him. "And what do _you_ believe?"

"I don't know. I just... I couldn't leave him, not if I could help him."

She nodded and went back to her computers. Riley kept stroking Chase's hair, squeezing his hand every time he whimpered. It seemed to help keep the nightmares at bay, which was better for his health. One of the other victims was in the ICU after hours of nightmares he couldn't escape from had wreaked havoc with his endocrine system. 

"You're the reason he stopped flirting with everyone."

Her quiet statement broke the silence of the lab. Riley looked up at her, eyes wide. She looked back at him and shrugged. "I asked him why he'd stopped flirting. He said he'd met someone who could be his soul mate, and meaningless flirting didn't feel right anymore, not when he had something real waiting for him, once his soul mate had decided."

"Oh." Riley wasn't sure of what else to say. He looked down at Chase, who looked peaceful in sleep, head now pillowed on Riley's thigh.

"Why don't you believe in soul mates?"

"Do you?" Riley asked in return. He blinked in surprise as she blushed. 

"I do. And yes, I know who she is. I just..." she trailed off. Riley kept stroking Chase's hair, waiting to see if Miss Morgan would continue. 

"She's much younger than I am," their mentor finally said. "And... I'm jealous." She looked up at Riley. "I always thought the pink energem on my mark meant me, not my mate."

Riley blinked. But that meant... "Oh!" 

"That does not go beyond us," she said with a sharp look. 

Riley nodded. "I won't say anything to her."

"I will tell her, Riley. It's just... hard. I thought I'd be a ranger when I met her. Instead..."

"The gem chose her. And that's why you didn't know why it did." 

"Yes. I know color is rare in soul marks, but a pink energem is pretty specific. Hard to deny she was my mate when she bonded with it."

"I'm sure it will work out, Miss Morgan."

"Hm." She looked up at him. "You never answered my question."

"My family... I'm one of the few to be born with a soul mark. And those who have them... Most have had problems, major problems. Some are... Perfectly mismatched, if that makes sense."

"But that doesn't mean that you and Chase can't be the exception. If you're willing," she added. "I'm pretty sure Chase is."

"I'm pretty sure he is, too," Riley replied, avoiding the issue of if he was. He didn't know anymore.

An alert sounded, and Miss Morgan went back to her computers. "Sledge made his monster grow again," she grumbled. "Tyler, Shelby, and Koda are forming the megazord."

Riley shifted. He should be out there, in case they needed his raptor. But he needed to be here with Chase, too. 

Would this be what a soul bond was like? Wanting to be with Chase all the time, above his duty as a Ranger? Or was this an outlier, with Chase being injured and Riley's touch the only thing grounding him? He wasn't sure. All he knew was, sitting here, Chase's head in his lap, his fingers stroking through Chase's hair, that this felt *right*.

Chase moved suddenly, arching back, every muscle in his body tense, and he made a high pitched noise. "Chase!" Riley called, grabbing the other ranger.

"They just destroyed the monster," Miss Morgan said, running over and using the scanner on Chase. Abruptly, Chase relaxed, flopping bonelessly back onto the couch, head in Riley's lap, one arm wrapped around Riley's legs. "He's asleep," Miss Morgan said, checking with the scanner. "Normal sleep. This is good, he needs the rest after all those nightmares."

"Yeah, but somehow, I don't think I'm going anywhere." He wasn't sure that he was really bothered by that. 

"Probably not. I'll tell the others that Chase is fine." She gave Riley a small smile. "Thank you, for staying. It helped."

Riley smiled back, not sure what to say. 

"Get some sleep," she told him. "I think Chase will be sleeping for a while."

"Yeah, I think he will."

Miss Morgan moved back to the computers, and Riley looked down at Chase. He moved Chase's arm and head a bit so he could slide down and lie next to Chase. Immediately, Chase moved, burying his face in Riley's neck, one arm across Riley's chest. It was comfortable. 

_I could get used to this,_ Riley thought as he, too, drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Chase woke to the lab lights being dim and an unfamiliar person in front of him. He frowned, and shifted to see who he was sharing a bed with, as he really didn't remember much beyond fighting one of Sledge's monsters, and getting hit with a beam of some kind. After that, well, a lot of nightmares. Nightmares that abated when Riley appeared in them, holding back the monsters that came after Chase, or coming in to reassure him that he wasn't being left behind in that cave. Every time a dream had turned bad, Riley had been there.

"How do you feel?"

Kendall's quiet voice broke into his thoughts, and Chase looked up to see the museum administrator standing next to the bed, holding out a bottle of water. He took it gratefully. 

"Feel like I went a few rounds with Fury, at least in my dreams." Sitting up, he drank half the water before looking down at the other person in the bed. 

Riley Griffin was sound asleep, on his side, his back to Chase. 

"He stayed once we found out that others affected by the monster were calmed by the touch of their soul mates, whether they were bonded or not."

Chase blinked at her. 

"He may not believe in soul mates, but he couldn't leave you in distress if he could help."

"That explains the dreams," Chase said, running a hand through his hair. "What did the monster do?"

"Trapped people in sleep with near constant nightmares. You didn't calm down until Riley was touching you. And I know you two haven't bonded. Yet." She gave him a small smile. "I didn't realize that he was the one you stopped flirting for."

"He pointed out the flirting. I told him I could be serious about him. And I am." He wanted the soul bond with Riley, but only if Riley wanted it, too. 

"I believe you."

"The monster?"

"Destroyed by the TriStego megazord and Tyler, Koda, and Shelby." Kendall looked over at the entrance to Koda's cave. Chase shifted, and saw what she did, all three other rangers curled up in Koda's furs in front of the cave, Tyler and Koda wrapped around each other. Shelby lay away from them, one hand stretching out to where a sleeping bag lay several feet away.

"Still think it's not her?" Chase asked, nodding toward Shelby. 

"Let me deal with this in my own way," Kendall said.

"Like you weren't trying to talk Riley into bonding?"

"I was trying to help him work through his issues, but even I know the decision has to be his. And hers," she added. 

"It's not her decision if you're not telling her."

Kendall gave him a look, but didn't respond. Chase didn't push it. He'd seen Kendall's soul mark one day while on a dig, and he knew she had assumed the pink energem was supposed to be hers. It's why she had carried it with them on digs. The gem only bonded during times of need, or after a demonstration of the qualities a ranger needed, and if they had been attacked on a dig, she would need it. 

Instead, Shelby had been the one to see the energem stolen, and had gone after it without knowing what it was, and bonded in the process. 

"So, what now?" Chase asked instead. 

"Well, now you get more sleep, and so do I." She gave him a quick smile. "I'm glad you're okay." She moved back toward the sleeping bag before he could say anything, but he noticed that she hesitated before getting in, looking at Shelby. She didn't move her bag, though, as Chase was silently urging her to do. 

He recapped the water bottle and set it on the bed behind him, curling up against Riley. He slid an arm around his soul mate, careful to stay away from the soul mark on his lower abdomen. Sleep bonding was rare, but had happened.

Unable to resist, he nuzzled his nose into the back of Riley's neck, getting a content little sigh from the green ranger. "Night, love," he whispered. 

There was no response from his sleeping soul mate, and Chase let himself drift off the sleep.


	4. Doubts

Riley woke in the early morning, Chase spooned up behind him, one arm resting over Riley's chest. Opening his eyes, he saw the rest of the team on the other side of the lab. Koda was on his back, one arm around Tyler, who had his head pillowed on the blue ranger's shoulder. Riley grinned at the sight. He wondered when they had gotten really comfortable with each other. 

Shelby was on the same pile of furs, at the very edge. She was on her back at well, her head turned to the side and one arm reaching toward the sleeping bag Miss Morgan was in. Their mentor was also reaching toward Shelby in her sleep, though she lay on her stomach. Even Riley, who didn't believe in soul mates, could see how they were matched. 

Carefully sliding out from under Chase's arm, Riley stood and stretched, heading for the locker room and the bathroom. When he came out, Keeper was there, watching the others. 

"Keeper?"

The alien being turned. "Riley. Perhaps you can answer a question for me."

Riley shrugged. "Sure."

"I do not understand the purpose of soul mates."

That wasn't quite a question, but Riley answered it anyway. "Honestly, Keeper, I don't either."

"But you and Chase are soul mates, as are Kendall and Shelby, and Koda and Tyler, yet you do not know the purpose, and do not bond?"

Well, he had not expected that Tyler and Koda were soul mates, though given the way they were sleeping, he shouldn't be surprised.

"It's complicated. No one really knows when soul mate marks started to appear. I didn't even know Koda had one, but I guess that means they were around at least 100,000 years ago. But, well, again, no one really knows why some people have soul mates and some don't. There are religious arguments on both sides. I've known people that, well, having a soul mate is a torment for them."

"And you? What do you believe?"

"I think human relationships are hard enough without adding the expectation of soul mates," Riley said. "Sometimes... Well, if Chase hadn't seen my mark, if he hadn't shown me his, would we have been interested in each other? Would we have wanted to date? Or would we have been good friends and teammates? We'll never know, because of the soul marks. People tend to think soul marks are the be all and end all of a relationship - you find the person with your mark, and it's happily ever after. But it's not. It's just as messy as any human emotion."

"So you deny your bond. Though you could have lost him last night."

"Even with the bond I could have lost him if the monster hadn't been destroyed. We all face losing our soul mate, bonded or not, whether we find them or not."

"But you do not feel it is better to have your soul mate bonded to you, in case?"

Riley sighed, walking back into the locker room. "Keeper, for me? It's not about the bond, or about whether or not I could lose Chase. It's about... wanting someone to want _me_. I don't want to be wanted because of some mark that fate or whoever put on my skin. I want to be wanted for being Riley Quinn Griffin. I think every human being deserves that, to have someone see them, who they are on the inside and outside, and not some matching mark on the skin. I saw Chase before I knew he had a mark, or a matching mark. If he had asked me out... I would have said yes. Because I liked _him_."

He ran a hand through his hair. "But now... I don't know if he likes me, or just my mark. And that's why I don't believe in soul marks, because it takes away anything resembling choice, any discovery of the other person, because of the expectation that they are the right one for you. And sometimes, Keeper? They're not. I saw that first hand, and how much it can screw up the people involved and everyone around them." His father's parents, his mother's brother, all of them had had soul mates, had bonded, and it had been the worst thing for everyone involved. Riley still had nightmares sometimes about the fights between his grandparents, and the less said about his Uncle Jason and his Aunt Mary, the better.

Keeper blinked at him, and Riley wasn't sure the alien quite understood. "You do not think that Chase appreciates you for yourself?"

"I'll never _know_ ," Riley said. "And that's the problem." He glanced at his watch. "I need to go, I'm supposed to do prep at the cafe today." He headed for the back stairs to the museum. Sure, he was probably an hour early, but that just meant an hour where he could be alone. And not thinking about a certain black ranger.


	5. Seeking Help

Chase glanced up from his skateboard as Koda sat down next to him. They were outside the museum, enjoying the sunshine. There hadn't been an attack in a few days, not since the nightmare monster.

"Hey, Koda," Chase said, pushing the board with his feet. He couldn't get the conversation between Riley and Keeper out of his mind, but he couldn't admit to overhearing it.

"Chase." Koda said softly. "Can I... ask question?"

"Always, mate. What's on your mind?" He gave Koda his attention.

"When you find someone... with... " Koda looked like he was trying to think of the right word. "Soul write?"

"Soul mark?" Chase asked, blinking. He didn't think humans had had soul marks back in Koda's time, but maybe he was wrong.

"Yes, yes. Soul mark. Before... if you found person with mark... you showed each other, and then elders, touch marks, and you were one. Not today?" he gestured to the people around them.

"It's a bit more complicated today," Chase said. "Sometimes, it can be that simple, but other times, well, you want to get to know the person first."

"Oh." Koda frowned. "But I know person."

Chase turned to him. "Wait, you found your soul mate?"

"Yes. I find soul mate. Friends with soul mate," Koda said with a smile.

"Oh yeah? Who?" Chase grinned at Koda's smile. Looked like he had it bad for this person, too.

Koda glanced around, then leaned forward. "Tyler."

Chase jerked his head back. "Tyler? Our Tyler?"

"Yes. He was... changing, and I saw mark." He gestured to his upper left chest. "It same as mine." He gestured to his right hip. That explained why Chase hadn't seen Koda's, since the man was not shy about not wearing shirts. It also explained why they had been wrapped around each other a few nights back.

"Koda," Chase asked, "before you saw Tyler's mark... did you... I mean." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what you did before the glacier, if you liked someone but hadn't seen a soul mark."

"Ah. You gave them gift. Pelt, food... something... useful."

"Would you have given one to Tyler before you saw his mark?"

"Yes. I gave him... burger. And fur."

"That's right." Shelby had made Koda a burger before the whole nightmare monster, and Koda had gone over to the table in the cave and set it in front of Tyler, with a shy grin. Tyler had accepted it, cutting it in half to give half back to Koda. They'd sat there, eating together, while Chase and Shelby and Riley had been working on the Dino Cycles. "When did you give him a fur?"

"After you were hurt. Day after."

"Before you saw the mark."

"Yes."

And Koda might think that Tyler returned the affection because Tyler had given back part of the burger. "You want to bond with him?" Chase asked.

"Yes. But. I do not know how... to tell?" Koda looked at Chase. "Tell him."

Chase sighed. "I know what you mean. I told mine and maybe I shouldn't have." He looked over at Koda, seeing Tyler pull up in his jeep. "There he is, mate, want me to call him over?"

Koda looked, waving at Tyler. Tyler waved back, a smile on his face. He headed toward them. "Hey Chase. Koda," he said with a slightly warmer smile. "What's going on?"

"Koda here was asking me about soul mates, about how we modern humans reveal them to people."

"Oh? You find your soul mate?" Tyler asked. Chase wondered if it was his imagination that Tyler's smile seemed to dim.

"Yes. I saw mark. Like mine."

"That's great." Oh, that was definitely disappointment that Chase was hearing in Tyler's voice. "Have you told them?"

"Not yet. Not sure... how."

"Things were simpler before Koda played Captain America," Chase said, ignoring the confused look that Koda gave him. "Show each other, show the elders, touch marks, that's it."

"Much simpler," Tyler said.

"Apparently, so was just telling someone you were interested with, even without seeing a mark." He looked directly at Tyler. "Giving them gifts of food and furs was a big part of it."

He saw the moment Tyler really processed what Chase had said. "Oh," Tyler said softly, looking at Koda, who gave Tyler a soft smile.

"I'll let you two talk," Chase said, picking up his skateboard as he stood. "Tyler, want me to take your shift?"

"Um..." He looked away from Koda, blinking. "Oh, if you don't mind?"

"Nah, mate. You two need the time. See you later."

"Thank you, Chase," Koda said.

"Anytime, Koda." Chase headed back to the entrance to the base, sliding down and putting his skateboard away before heading up to the cafe.

"Where's Tyler?" Miss Morgan asked as Chase checked the schedule to see what Tyler was supposed to be handling. Server duties. Chase could handle that.

"He and Koda need to talk, so I offered to take Tyler's shift for him," Chase said, tying on an apron.

"Why do they need to talk?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Chase glanced around, then leaned in. "Same reason you still need to talk to Shelby," he said softly.

She stared at him. "Tyler and Koda?"

"Oh come on, you didn't see that the other night?"

"I'm just surprised Tyler said something."

"Actually, Koda is the one who said something." Chase put his hat on and picked up the order pad. "Let them work it out, Kendall."

"Koda's shift starts in three hours. He better be here," she said, turning and walking away.

"Right." Chase nodded at Shelby, who was cooking today, and the part time workers who helped out, and headed out to the dining area. Riley was already out there, on the cash register. Chase nodded at him and checked on the tables, seeing who was waiting to have their order taken. 

An hour into his shift, he looked up to see a man in a navy shirt and black pants taking a seat at one of the booths. He nodded at the man and kept taking the order of the table he was at. When done, he popped over to the man's table. "Hi, welcome to Dino Bites. I'm Chase. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Sure, I'll take a coffee, black. And a tuna-dactyl melt and fries."

Chase nodded, writing it down. "Great, we'll have this out in a moment."

"Um, hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure." Chase tried not to show his surprise.

"Is Riley Griffin working today?"

"Why?"

"He's a friend, figured I'd say hi while I was here."

Chase blinked. "Uh, yeah, I can tell him..." he trailed off.

"Dr. Billy Cranston."

"I'll let him know." Chase nodded and headed for the kitchen. Riley was on break, sitting out of the way in the corner, reading a book. Chase dropped the orders off with Shelby and headed for the corner. "Hey Ri?"

Riley looked up. "Hey Chase."

"There's a guy out that says he's a friend of yours, Dr. Billy Cranston?"

Riley dropped his book and stood, looking over Chase's shoulder to the dining area. "Dr. Cranston? Here?"

"That's what he says. Booth 5."

"Wow. That is him."

"There's still ten minutes left on your break if you want to go talk to him," Shelby said. "In fact, give me two, and you can take his order out to him."

"Thanks, Shelby," Riley said with a smile.

"So, who is this guy?"

"He's an engineer and physicist that I met a few years ago when he gave a talk at my school on science careers and his public work with NASADA. I asked him some questions afterward, he gave me his email address, and we've been writing ever since. Wonder what he's doing in Amber Beach?" Riley asked, seemingly to himself.

"Maybe he came to see you?"

"Maybe."

"Booth 5 is ready," Shelby said, handing Riley a tray. "Go have fun with your friend."

Riley grinned as he grabbed the tray. "Thanks Shelby, Chase."

Chase smiled as he watched Riley leave. Shelby looked at him and grinned back. "Good to see him happy," she said.

"Yeah," Chase said. "It is."

* * *

"Here's your order," Riley said, setting the tray down.

Dr. Cranston looked up and smiled. "Riley!"

"Hey, Dr. C. Mind if I sit down?"

"Not going to get in trouble, are you?" 

"I've got six minutes left on my break, and some co-workers who might cover for me," Riley said, sitting down.

"Good. Since my husband had a meeting with the museum administrator, I figured I'd stop by and say hello. How's life treating you?" Dr. Cranston took a bite of his sandwich.

"It's been pretty good. Getting to do a lot here, not just serving food. Might even be able to get out on a dig soon."

"Don't tell me I'm losing you to paleontology," Dr. C asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Not yet," Riley said with a grin. "I haven't even chosen a college, much less a major."

"Let me know, I'll be happy to write a letter of recommendation," Dr. C said.

"Thanks." Riley glanced at his watch. He didn't want to be late back to his shift.

"Hey, gorgeous," a new voice said. Looking up, Riley saw a man in a black suit with a dark green shirt standing next to the table, looking at Dr. C.

"Hey yourself," Dr. C said, moving over. "Tommy, this is Riley Griffin, that student I've been mentoring. Riley, this is my husband, Dr. Tommy Oliver."

"Hey, nice to meet you, Riley," Dr. Oliver said, holding out a hand as he sat down.

"Nice to meet you, too," Riley replied.

"Riley is working at the museum this summer. You are not allowed to encourage him away from my fields into paleontology," Dr. C told his husband with a frown.

"You take all my fun away," Dr. Oliver said with a frown back, but his eyes were definitely sparkling.

"I'll make it up to you later," Dr. C replied, his voice low, and the look in his eyes had Riley blushing and looking away.

"I will hold you to that," Dr. Oliver said. "But I think we're embarrassing poor Riley here with our 'old married soul bond' antics."

Riley blinked, glancing between the two. They were soul bonded? Dr. C had never mentioned it, but then again, when would it have come up in conversation? He'd mentioned his husband, but that was it. "You're soul bonded?" he blurted out, then blushed again, looking away.

"Yeah, we are," Dr. Oliver said. "Have been since we were, what, eighteen?"

"At least," Dr. C replied. "Wasn't all happily ever after, singing flowers and all that, it's been wild ride at times, but it's been good to us."

"Oh."

Dr. C looked at him. "Riley? You okay?"

He bit his lip, wondering if he should tell Dr. C and his husband. They were soul bonded; would they understand his reticence? His family's choice to not believe in soul mates? "I found mine," he said softly. "But... it's complicated." He glanced around the cafe, not wanting his teammates to overhear if he said anything else.

Dr. Oliver opened his mouth to speak, but Dr. C held up a hand. "Why don't you let Tommy and I take you out to dinner tonight, someplace where we can talk privately, so you don't have to worry about certain other parties overhearing?"

"Yeah, that would be good," Riley said. "If I can make it. Don't know what might come up at the museum." _What Sledge might decide to throw at us._

Dr. Oliver handed Riley a business card. "My cell is on here, just give us a call."

"Thanks," he said, with a genuine smile. "But I better get back, my break is over and I think Chase is about to hunt me down." He slid out of the booth. "Good to see you again, Dr. C, and nice to meet you, Dr. Oliver."

"Good to see you, Riley," Dr. C said as Riley headed back to the kitchen. Riley found himself looking forward to that night, and hoping Sledge didn't throw anything at them.


	6. Not all Hearts and Flowers

"Thanks for taking my shift," Tyler said as he help Chase clean up the kitchen that night after closing. "Koda and I appreciate it. Gave us some time to complete the bond. And talk." Tyler's ears turned red. Chase suspected they did more than talking, but figured he wasn't going to embarrass Tyler further.

"Not a problem, mate. Glad to help." He frowned at the grill and started scrubbing. 

"Everything all right with yours?"

Chase shrugged. "With what?"

"Koda said you'd said something about regretting saying something to your own soul mate?"

Chase stopped, staring at the grill. "No. That's quite right. I don't regret saying anything to my soul mate. What I regret is not saying something to him before I saw the mark. Because I did think he was attractive, I would have asked him out... but I didn't know how he would have reacted. So I didn't say anything."

"You could have told him that you liked him, without saying you'd seen his soul mark."

"No," Chase said. "That would have been worse. He never would have believed me once he found out that I knew about the mark before I'd said anything. He wants someone who wants _him_ , not just the soul mark. He'd never trust that I did want him, and it wasn't just because of the mark, if I didn't tell him up front that I had seen it."

"True. So what are you going to do?"

Chase gave up on the grill, turning to Tyler. "He doesn't believe in soul mates. Not much I can do if he doesn't want to bond."

"I'm sorry, Chase."

He gave Tyler a grin. "Thanks, but it is what it is, you know?"

"Still, you helped us, just wish there was a way we could help you."

"Don't say anything about it, okay? I don't... this has to be his choice, you know?"

"Not that I know who he is," Tyler said, picking up something in the corner. "But we won't say anything. Huh, whose book is this?"

"Uh, Riley's, I think."

"Oh, okay. I'll leave it down in the lab for him. He said he was going out to dinner with friends of his tonight."

"Let's hope Sledge lets him have dinner with his friends," Chase said.

"Yeah, good point."

* * *

Riley waited in the lobby of Dr. C and Dr. Oliver's hotel, lost in thought. He'd gone back to the kitchen before leaving, wanting to get the book he'd left there, and heard Tyler and Chase talking. While he was glad that Koda and Tyler had bonded, the conversation between Tyler and Chase about Riley himself had been more interesting.

_What I regret is not saying something to him before I saw the mark. Because I did think he was attractive, I would have asked him out... but I didn't know how he would have reacted._

Hearing Chase say he'd been attracted to Riley before seeing the mark... Riley had bit his lip at hearing that. He wished that Chase had asked him before seeing his mark, but hearing it when Chase didn't know Riley was listening...

"Hey, Riley."

He looked up and smiled at Dr. C and his husband. "Hi."

"We made reservations in the hotel restaurant, so we could talk privately," Dr. C said.

"Sounds great. Anything's better than my own cooking."

They made their way to a quiet corner of the restaurant, far away from any other patrons. Once they'd ordered, Dr. C looked at Riley. "So, you know Tommy and I are soul bonded."

"Yeah," Riley said, looking between the two.

"It was complicated between us," Dr. Oliver said, reaching out to take Billy's hand. "The bonding was accidental. We knew each other in high school but, well, I wasn't exactly looking his way."

"I was looking his way, but he was more interested in girls wearing pink than in me," Dr. C said.

Dr. Oliver gave his husband an apologetic look. "I was a typical teenager, and looking at the wrong people."

"How did you manage to bond then?" Riley asked.

Billy gave Riley a small smile. "I was tinkering with my car in high school, and had to take my watch off to get my hand into a tight space. No one knew that my watch covered my soul mark."

From Dr. Oliver's look, there was something else going on at the time that they weren't discussing. "And I had stopped by to see if he wanted to go hang out in the park with a group of our friends. I gave him a hand up from under his car and touched his mark. And, well..."

"His fingers touched my mark, and I felt like someone had just sucked all the air out of me, and yet like I could fly at the same time."

"And I swear I heard a noise like a 'click' and had this overwhelm urge to grab his free hand and put it over my mark. The only reason I didn't is because of where it is."

Riley nodded. 

"It gave us a little time to talk, before we had to complete the bond," Dr. C said. "Because it was a heck of a shock to both of us. I didn't expect Tommy to be my soul mate. Frankly," he said with a look at his husband, "I would have expected Kimberly."

"I know. But I knew she wasn't. Didn't mean we weren't talking of making things permanent before she moved. I mean, we both knew the odds of finding our soul mate were astronomical, and this was in the mid 1990s. I mean, we barely had dial up internet then, so there was no major place to post a picture of your mark and hope to find your soul mate, like your generation has."

Riley looked down. "My family doesn't believe in soul mates, so I wouldn't put mine on the internet."

"But you said you'd found your soul mate," Dr. C said quietly.

"I did. By accident. We haven't bonded yet."

"Because you don't believe in soul mates."

"I don't know," he told Dr. Oliver. "I don't know what I believe now. My family doesn't have good experiences with soul mates. My grandparents, my Uncle Jason... too many people in my family who have soul mates have had bad experiences." 

He saw the two men look at each other. Their waiter came back with their meals before they could say anything. When he was gone, and after they'd started eating, Dr. C looked at Riley. "What does your heart tell you?"

"That I want to try this. But my head... I don't know." He sighed down at his pasta. "It got complicated between lunch and now. I overhead Chase talking to someone." He bit his lip. "He liked me before he saw my soul mark. I just wish he'd said something to me before, you know?"

"Would have been nice to know he was interested in you beyond the soul mark?" Dr. C said. "I can understand that, having been through that myself," he said with a side glance at his husband.

"How did you get past that?"

Dr. Oliver sighed. "It took a while."

"I had medical issues, and I had to leave our hometown for treatment. Tommy was still in high school, so he couldn't follow. And then he decided instead of college he'd go racing cars and nearly got himself killed in an accident just as I came home. That really made us consider what we needed from each other as soul mates."

"Yeah, I don't recommend it as a way to figure things out. Not having Billy around for a year really messed with my head. Especially since, well, information on his medical condition wasn't forthcoming. Long story," he said as Riley looked at him in confusion.

"But it sounds like you and your soul mate have a chance to talk before there are problems," Dr. C said. "Especially since you haven't bonded yet."

"But... what if it goes wrong? I mean, there's no way it's happily ever after."

"It's not," Dr. Oliver said. "It's hard work, all relationships are. Hell, Billy and I still fight over things, sometimes very stupid things."

"Like you considering jobs in other cities without telling me?" Dr. C asked idly. Riley laughed as Dr. Oliver blushed and ducked his head. "But Tommy's right. I know, from watching some of my friends who had bad soul matches, people do have unrealistic expectations. Hearts and flowers, happily ever after, all that. But it's not that at all. And it sounds like you've at least got a good head on your shoulders, since you're already considering that it's not something that's just touch marks and happily ever after happens."

"But you two do need to talk, so you know where both of you are coming from, and where you want to take this, before bonding," Dr. Oliver said. "Nothing wrong with waiting, if neither of you are ready yet."

"There are... other factors at play, too."

Dr. C and Dr. Oliver looked at each other again. "If Billy and I can overcome him almost dying a week after we bonded then you and this... Chase?" at Riley's nod, he continued. "You and Chase can overcome whatever other factors are at play."

"And, if you ever need to talk," Dr. C said, "Tommy and I are just a phone call away."

Riley grinned at his mentor and his mentor's husband. "Thanks," he said, "I really appreciate that."

"And if you ever want to talk paleontology..." Dr. Oliver said leadingly.

"No," Dr. C said. "You've already got paleontology minions from Reefside."

"Yeah, but Riley's more fun."

"Not my fault you didn't want to speak at his school." Dr. C winked at Riley. Riley laughed. Yeah, he still had to talk to Chase, but at least now... now he knew that Chase had wanted him, and he knew he had someone else to talk to if he needed it. Someone who had a soul bond that worked.

Now, if only Sledge would give them the time they needed to talk.


	7. Talking

Of course, Sledge didn't. In the next month, he kept throwing as many monsters as he could at them, while keeping them from getting to energems. At least Sledge hadn't gotten his metal paws on any of them.

Riley covered a yawn as Shelby laughed at him. She climbed up to the T-Rex head that was the entrance to the lab. "Late night?" she asked.

"Dreams about Spellbinder again," he admitted. "Being hit with that beam still unnerves me. Can't imagine what it's like for Chase."

Shelby nodded. "Yeah, Chase aiming at me is still something I see in my dreams." She turned the tooth and slid down. Riley followed quickly.

Inside the lab, they tossed their energems at the charging station and headed toward the main consoles. Chase was there already, his back to the entrance and arms crossed over his chest and glaring at Miss Morgan. "I'm just saying, I'll talk to Riley when you talk to Shelby, because that's a conversation that needs to happen more than Riley and I right now."

"Chase, you know why I can't talk to Shelby."

"Talk to me about what?" Shelby asked, her hands on her hips. Both Miss Morgan and Chase turned, guilty expressions on their faces.

"Shelby," Chase said. 

"Yes. Why does Miss Morgan needs to talk to me? Or, better yet, why do _you_ think she needs to talk to me?"

"Um," Chase said, his eyes looking from Shelby to Riley to Miss Morgan and back.

"Probably for the same reason that Chase and I need to talk," Riley said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at Chase.

"This isn't the time," Miss Morgan was saying.

"Yes, it is," Shelby said.

"I agree." Riley looked at their mentor. "I think is the time."

"You know what she wants to say to me," Shelby said, staring at Riley.

"Yes." He didn't look back at her.

"Why are you two forcing this?" Miss Morgan asked.

"Because it's affecting the team as much as the fact that Riley and I haven't talked is," Chase said. "Koda's even noticed."

"To be fair, Koda notices these things. Not sure Tyler has figured it out yet," Riley added.

"Good point."

"Excuse me, is anyone going to tell me why they think Kendall and I need to talk?" Shelby asked.

"Because we likely share a soul mark," Miss Morgan said.

Chase and Riley turned to Shelby, to see her reaction. Shelby blinked at Miss Morgan. "Wait, what?"

"I believe we likely share the same soul mark," Miss Morgan said. 

Shelby sighed. "Okay, I think that's going to require visual verification. And somewhere where the boys can't see."

"We're good with that," Riley said quickly. He didn't need to know where Shelby's or Miss Morgan's soul marks were. Some of them could be in very intimate places.

"My office, upstairs. We can ensure privacy there," Miss Morgan said, heading for the elevator. "And then Chase and Riley can talk down here, since Koda and Tyler are working right now."

Shelby followed, glancing at Riley, who gave her an encouraging smile. Then they were gone, and Riley looked back at his soul mate. Things had, oddly enough, gotten better between them over the past month, since they'd worked out some of their team differences while fighting Sledge's weird monsters. But things had gotten worse personally, with them not getting time to just sit down and talk.

Riley ran a hand through his hair. "Until about a month ago, I'd never met anyone with a stable soul bond."

"That can color your view of soul bonds," Chase said softly. "I heard you talking to Keeper, after I was hit with those nightmares."

"Oh." He wasn't sure what to say about that.

"I did like you, before I saw the mark. I just... look, I know, I flirted a lot, with a lot of people. But something about you... I was afraid of getting rejected, and I didn't think I could handle that."

"I wouldn't have rejected you," Riley said with a frown.

"But I didn't know that!" Chase pushed away from the table he'd been leaning against and paced around the holographic display table. "I mean, I had no idea if you were into guys, girls, both, neither. Didn't exactly get a lot of clues, mate, and this... felt like it was something too important to get wrong."

"So you said nothing, until you saw my soul mark."

"Well, a kiwi bird with a sword behind it, it's a pretty distinctive mark. Figured that I should say something. If it had been more generic, not sure I would have said anything. And I know you said you didn't believe in soul mates, but I wanted you to know that you probably did have one, before you decided not to bond at all." He gave Riley a wry smile. "Need all the data before coming to a conclusion, right?"

He had to smile at that. "Right. And I have to admit, I heard you and Tyler talking in the kitchen, after he and Koda had bonded. I know that you liked me beforehand. So, well, guess the feeling was mutual. Maybe we already knew, before seeing the marks."

"I guess we did. But Riley, I'm still serious. It's your call on what we do."

Riley walked forward to where Chase was standing, reaching up to put a hand on Chase's sleeve, over his soul mark. Chase sucked in a quick gasp of air, even though Riley hadn't touched his skin. "When my mentor was here, he and his husband and I talked a lot about soul bonds. About how so many people have unrealistic expectations about them."

"I think we both know that nothing will be easy with us, Riley. That we will fight, we will have issues. It's a relationship like any other, but we know that in the end, we have each other."

"We do," Riley said softly. "We drive each other nuts at times, but we do have each other. And arguments don't mean a failed soul bond, unless we let them. So... I want this. I want you, the bond, everything," he looked up at the black ranger, biting his lip. "I want us," he whispered.

Chase's eyes smoldered and he pulled Riley against him, kissing him fiercely, one hand sliding into Riley's hair. Riley went willingly, kissing Chase back just as fiercely. 

"God, we need to be somewhere a lot more private," Chase murmured against Riley's lips. "Because I'm not bonding with you here, and not in Koda and Tyler's cave."

"Yeah," Riley whispered back. He turned his head and nuzzled against Chase's neck, licking the pulse point. He was rewarded by Chase pulling him tighter against the older ranger. 

"Not so innocent are you?"

"I grew up on a ranch, Chase." He leaned up to lick Chase's ear. "I'm definitely not innocent."

"Tonight, my apartment," Chase gasped. "Bring something for tomorrow, because I'm not letting you go home," he said.

"I'm good with that." Riley turned and pressed his lips to Chase's in a kiss. "But what do we do until then? I doubt Kendall and Shelby are coming back, and Koda and Tyler are working."

"Make out? Train? Talk some more?"

Riley grinned. "I like the first and the third."

Chase rested his head against Riley's. "Sounds like a plan to me."


	8. Bonding

Sledge threw a monster at them that day, but they prevailed, saving the city. Shelby and Kendall had appeared in the lab, both looking very content, before the team had headed out to fight the monster.

Once they were back, Koda and Tyler had disappeared into Koda's cave. Tyler had all but moved into the cave with his soul mate, and none of them had blinked at that. Both men were much happier sharing the space. Chase suspected that Shelby and Kendall might be sharing space soon, too, judging by the way the women were standing next to each other, hands casually brushing each other.

"Need a ride?" Chase asked Riley.

"I'm good." He stepped closer. "But I will be over in an hour."

Chase smiled. "I'll be waiting," he said in a low voice, just to see Riley shiver.

It only took Riley forty minutes to make it to Chase's door. He opened it to find his soul mate standing there, shyly smiling at him. "Hi."

"Hey." He stepped back to let Riley in. He'd spent the time since he got home cleaning up his living room and bedroom, and had pulled out a frozen pizza that he'd put in the oven. "I've got dinner cooking."

"Good, cause I didn't think to eat at home. Just threw together a bag." He held up the bright green gym bag. 

"Toss it in the bedroom," Chase said, heading back to the kitchen. If Riley was going to be in his bedroom, he couldn't follow him. He'd want to see what Riley looked like against the black cotton of his sheets (he'd probably look delicious) and that would lead to fires when the pizza burned. 

Speaking of the pizza, it was done, so Chase pulled it out and set it on top of the stove. He wondered what Riley was thinking about his apartment. He'd decorated with a few things he'd gotten from Moana's shop, and with things he'd brought from home. His dining room table, rented like the rest of the furniture, was more of a work table for this skateboards than a place to eat, and the ugly grasscloth wall of the dining room was partially covered by a New Zealand flag. The most personalization in the place was the flag, the black sheets in the bedroom, and the kiwi bird shower curtain. He slept here, but he really wasn't sure he actually lived in the apartment. Some days, the museum and the lab felt more like home. Especially now that the team was there.

"Nice apartment," Riley said, coming back into the living room. 

"Better than museum housing for summer interns?" 

"Much better. I can barely put anything up without violating the lease. And Miss Morgan isn't your neighbor."

"And probably Shelby soon."

"Well, at least I don't share a wall with that bedroom," Riley said. 

"You did not just say that."

Riley shrugged as Chase handed him a plate. They ate on the couch while watching the news, Chase pausing and rewinding on the coverage of their fight, both of them pointing out where the team been awesome and where they needed work. 

When they finished, Chase put the plates in the sink and rejoined Riley on the couch. "So," he said, suddenly nervous.

Riley leaned in and pressed a kiss to Chase's lips. "I think we did all the talking we needed to do this afternoon," the green ranger said. "Unless you want to talk more."

"No, no, I'm good with not talking more," Chase said, pulling Riley into his lap so the younger ranger was straddling him. "I just didn't know how you wanted to do this. Bond first, or..."

Riley's eyes darkened. "Bond first," he said. "I don't want to wait any more." His hand moved to cover Chase's soul mark, over his shirt, and Chase shivered from the feel of his soul mate's warmth so close to that part of him that was _them_.

"Then don't wait," Chase said softly, "do it."

Leaning in to kiss Chase, Riley's hand slipped to below the hem of his sleeve. Riley pulled back, his eyes focused on Chase's as his fingers slowly trailed up Chase's skin, pushing up fabric. Chase held his breath in anticipation, suddenly desperate for something he couldn't put into words. 

Riley's fingers settled over his mark, and Chase gasped, losing what little breath he had left, at the feelings that went through him. He couldn't breathe, but yet his soul was soaring at the feeling of rightness, of belonging that went through him. He found his free hand on Riley's stomach, pushing up the shirt. Riley was tugging at his shirt as well, exposing the mark, his eyes still locked onto Chase's. Chase settled the palm of his hand over Riley's mark, and felt something _click_ in his soul, felt Riley burrowing into it, they way he'd burrowed into Riley's. 

Reluctantly pulling his hand free from Riley's mark, he slid his hand around his soul mate's neck and pulled him down into a kiss that was slow and reassuring, but still full of desire for the green ranger. Riley returned the kiss, his free hand stroking Chase's neck. 

Riley's eyes were still closed when they parted for air, and Chase smiled at the sight. "Stay here?" Chase asked softly. "Or move to the bedroom?"

He couldn't help but shiver at the expression of lust and love in Riley's eyes when he opened them. "Bedroom," he said, his voice as low as Chase's.

"Right." Chase stood, arms holding up Riley, who leaned in and pressed his face to Chase's neck, letting the older man carry him into the bedroom. Chase appreciated that Riley didn't try to distract him while negotiating corners. Once he'd gotten into the bedroom, he set Riley on his feet, and Riley pressed Chase against the wall, kissing him hard, hands roaming. He lifted up Chase's shirt, breaking their kiss to pull it over Chase's head, and pressed his lips to the soul mark on Chase's arm. Chase growled in arousal, stripping off Riley's shirt and pushing back until Riley was on the bed, looking up at Chase with dark eyes, a small smirk on his lips. Chase straddled his soul mate, taking in the sight. His last coherent thought, before he leaned in to kiss Riley, was that he'd been right.

Riley looked absolutely fantastic against his black sheets.


	9. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally forgot to point out the help that the fabulous SchizoCherri gave me on this fic. Including feeding the bunnies.

Riley and Chase strolled into the lab to find Tyler and Koda standing near their cave, staring across the room. They turned to look, seeing Shelby and Miss Morgan sitting on the benches next to the table. As they watched, Miss Morgan reached up and pushed a lock of Shelby's hair behind her ear. Shelby smiled and turned to press a quick kiss to Miss Morgan's fingers.

"Did we miss something?" Tyler asked. His hand was wrapped around Koda's. Koda looked between the two women, and Chase and Riley, his gaze going to where Chase's arm was around Riley's shoulder, and Riley's arm was around Chase's waist.

"Depends, mate, what do you think you missed?" Chase asked, a grin on his face.

Riley rolled his eyes. "It turns out that Miss Morgan and Shelby have matching soul marks, and I'm guessing they bonded yesterday."

"You bond too," Koda said, a grin on his face.

"Yeah, we did," Riley said, blushing. Chase, his grin wider, leaned in to kiss Riley.

"Huh. So, the entire team is bonded to team members?" Tyler asked.

"Don't worry, we won't be moving into the lab," Chase said. "You and Koda can deal with the furs and the rock. I like my modern comforts."

"That's not what I was thinking," Tyler protested. "Just thinking, at least we all have someone who understand the problems of being a rangers."

"Most rangers tend to have soul bonds with other rangers," Keeper said, appearing next to them. "Though I do not believe there has been a team with everyone bonded at the same time, it does help for rangers to be bonded to one another."

"Kendall isn't a ranger," Tyler pointed out.

"Yet," Riley said, shrugging when they all looked at him. "There are still five energems out there. One of them could be hers."

"Riley is right, Kendall could very well become a ranger. I believe she would be a good ranger, otherwise I never would have asked for her help to track down the energems." Keeper looked at the four men, his eyes seeming to smile. "I am proud that all of you have found your destinies and embraced them, and each other. This is not the end of your journey, merely the beginning, but now you each have someone to walk the path at your side."

"And to kick butt with," Chase added with a grin. The others laughed as Shelby and Miss Morgan joined them, their fingers intertwined.

"Whose butt are we kicking?" Shelby asked brightly, just as the monster alarm went off.

"The monster's," Miss Morgan said, hurrying over to the holographic table. "He's in the city center." She turned and pressed a quick kiss to Shelby's lips. "Go, kick butt, but come back. All of you," she said with a look at Tyler and Koda and Chase and Riley.

"May the Power protect you," Keeper said before he disappeared.

"Ready?" Tyler asked, heading over to the energem holder and retrieving his crystal and chargers. The others followed suit.

"Wait," Riley said, leaning up to press a kiss to Chase's lips, surprising the black ranger. "Now I'm ready."

Koda leaned in and pressed a kiss to Tyler's lips. "Yes. Now ready."

As Miss Morgan shook her head, albeit with a fond smile on her face, the team held up their chargers. "It's Morphin' time!"


End file.
